Gregory



June 13, 1961 J. GREGORY, JR., EI'AL 2,987,733

CONVERTIBLE BED Filed Jan. 22, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 (170650 fiesaey, c/.

DOA/9L0 1Q. B19755 JNVENTORS.

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June 13, 19 J. GREGORY, JR., ETI'AL CONVERTIBLE BED Filed Jan. 22, 1959 June 13, 1961 J. GREGORY, JR., EIAL 2,987,733

CONVERTIBLE BED Filed Jan. 22, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 DOA/A40 B. B19755 INVENTORS.

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United States Patent' i ce 2,987,733 CONVERTIBLE BED Jackson Gregory, Jr., Anaheim, and Donald R. Bates, '(ljuiltfiri, Calif. (both of 1040 N. Olive St., Anaheim, a Filed Jan. 22, 1959, Ser. No. 788,310

Claims. (Cl. 5-2) This invention relates to beds, of the type which are adapted for use as a sofa or lounge during the daytime, and are capable of ready conversion to a sleeping unit for nighttime use. 3

Aficharacteristic feature of a sofa as compared to a bedis the difierence in widths. One solution to the problem of convertibility from a sofa to a bed, accordingly, has been the provision of a bolster which efiectively narrows the bed to sofa width for daytime use. Sonic quite elaborate mechanisms have been proposed for combining a bolster and a bed so as to provide convertibility, audin many cases the devices proposed have proved impractical from a mechanical standpoint. Sofa beds of this general category are in wide use in hotels and apartments, and simple, fool-proof mechanical design-is especially necessary in this type of service.

The present invention provides a unique and particuiarly practicable solution to the problem outlined above, and is adaptable to both single and twin bed construction.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a twin bed unit, showing one bolster displaced laterally.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the same unit, showing one bolster displaced laterally and the corresponding bed swung out into nighttime position.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view, taken from the rear or wall side, as shown by the arrows'in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a plan view showing a bed frame, looking downward from the level shown by the arrows in FIG- URE 3. r 7

FIGURE 5 is a partial end view of the assembly shown in FIGURE 1, and taken as shown by the arrows in FIG- URE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a detailed cross section showing the bolster suspension and interior construction, taken as indicated by the arrows in FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 7 is a detail view of the bed roller construction, taken at the point shown by the arrows in FIG- URE 4.

FIGURE 8 is a cross sectional view showing a roller and its detent mechanism, taken as shown by the arrows in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view showing the construction embodying a single bed.

Returning now to FIGURES 1 and 2, there are shown therein a standard 10 which may conveniently take the form of a small table, a first bed 11, a second bed 12, a first bolster 13, a second bolster 14, a first carriage rail attached to the standard 10, a second carriage rail 16 likewise attached to the standard, a first headboard 17 attached to bed 11, a second headboard 18 attached to bed 12, and hinge means 19 attached to the standard and also to one side of each of the headboards. The hinge is conveniently of the piano hinge type, as appears from the drawings.

Each of the bolsters 13 and 14 is carried on a carriage rail in a slidable fashion. This is particularly evident from FIGURES l, 2, 5 and 6, from which it may be seen that in our preferred and best embodiment, we have provided a metal channel 20 as part of the carriage rail structure, which engages a wooden slat 21 attached to the bolster in the fashion particularly evident in FIGURE 6. Thus, the bolster may slide horizontally, but cannot be removed from engagement with the metal channel 20 Patented June 13, 1961 unless indeed the bolster is slid out for its entire length. It is convenient to upholster only the outer face 22 of the bolster and permit it to swing on hinge means'23 so that it may be swung upwards so as to expose the hollow space within the framework of the bolster, which is convenient for nighttime use for holding books, clocks, and the like. 7

The details of the bed frame which we employ in our best embodiment of the invention are evident from FIG- URE 4.- Here it will seen that we employ a plurality of rollers 24, 25, 26 and 27, each of which has a horizontal axis so 'as to permit rolling of the bed frame in a horizontal plane, each of the axes of the rollers, when prolonged, intersecting the axis of the piano hinge 19. This assures proper tracking of each when when the bed frame is swung out. Even so, because of the substantial length of each of the roller assemblies, in order to avoid any further tracking error each of the roller assemblies comprises a series of separate roller wheels, as appears from the drawings. This is of particular importance as the axis of rotation, namely, the hinge 19, is approached.

Thus, the differential rotation of each of the roller Wheels in roller assembly 24is more marked than in the considerably more distant roller assembly 27.

While one end of the carriage rail assembly is aflixed to the standard 10, we find it convenient to provide a leg 28 at'the-far end, as' appears particularly in FIGURES 3, 5 and 8. An especial feature of our invention is the provision of a flat strip 29, so disposed as to be aligned with hinge means 19, flat on the floor, and capable of being rolled over by roller 27. This provides a potential energy barrier which must be overcome when it is desired to pull the bed' frame out from its daytime position to its nighttime position. Because of the substantial weight of the bed frametogether with the spring and mattress and bed coverings, only a relatively low strip is needed in order to accomplish this highly desirable function. In practice, as appears from the drawings, a flat steel strip approximately 1 inch in width and A3 inch thick suflices.

Corning now to the operation of our novel bed assembly, it may be noted that one of the difliculties of'hotel service for a device of the general type described is that it is operated by perhaps as many as a hundred different guests during the course of a year, many of which are careless and mechanically awkward. Some convertible sofa beds have been proposed in which the bolster acts as a dent mechanism for swinging out of the headboard. This does not work out very satisfactorily in practice, because it is a natural tendency for a hotel guest to tug on the bed in an endeavor to pull it out into nighttime position without first adjusting the bolster as needed. In the present invention, the bolster is perfectly free to slide horizontally. Accordingly, when a guest tugs on the end of the bed in order to pull it away from its daytime position, the headboard 17, for example, merely pushes the bolster sideways on its carriage, with no mechanical damage whatsoever to headboard, standard, bed frame, or bolster. A further advantage of the horizontal slidability of the :bolster is that it is not necessary to pull the bed out as far in order to free the entire area of the bed from the bolster. This is made particularly evident in the plan view of FIGURE 2, wherein it will be seen that the bolster is completely free of the bed, even though the latter has been pulled out only about 30 from its daytime position. A further advantage of this construction is that it enables a convertible sofa bed of this general type to be installed in a smaller room, while still providing complete freedom from the bolster.

Actually, only a very slight detent action is needed for the daytime position of the bed, since normal use as a sofa tends to pull the bed away from its daytime position with only relatively slight force. It is, therefore, undeprovided in our invention, namely, causing one of the rollers; torollyover a strip so as to provide a; gravity; potentiak energy barrier is remarkably eifective for the purpose As the bed is occupied as a sofa in its daytime position, the weight of the occupant adds so much to the barrier or hump that the bed can scarcely be dislodged at all from its position; but when the occupant gets up, the weight on the detained roller is correspondingly less and it may be readily rolled over'the flat strip.

, It will belappreciated-that while the description of the invention has so far been in terms of a twin bed structure, the; invention is likewise capable of being carried out with a single bed, as shown in'FIGURE 9. For illustrative purposes, in FIGURE 9 the standard 30 has been shown as a'n'arrow table, but it can as well be the wall itself, which gives a'particularly compact structure forinstallation in small rooms, although without the convenience of a table top behind the bed. i

It will be appreciatedthat While our invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments, it is abroad one; and accordingly numerous modifications and changes maybe made; within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

7 What we claim is: r a

1. In a bed structure, in combination, a standard; a bed frame; a headboard attached to said bed frame; hinge means joining said headboard and said standard; horizontal carriage rail means attached to said standard; and a bolster carried by and slidably engaging said carriage rail and adapted to slide horizontally away from said headboard, thereby permitting said bed frame to be turned in a horizontal plane on said hinge means..

2. In a bed structure, in combination, a standard; a bed frame; a headboard attached to said bed ,frame; hinge means joining said headboard and said standard; horizontal carriage railmeans attached to said standard; a bolster carried by and slidably engaging said carriage rail and adapted to slide horizontally away from said headboard, thereby permitting said bed frame to be turned in a horizontal plane on said hinge means; and a plurality of roller means on horizontal axes intersecting said hinge means and each comprising "a plurality of roller-wheels on a common axis.

3. In a bed structure, in combination, a standard; a bed frame; a headboard attached to said bed frame; hinge means joining said headboard and said standard; horizontal carriage rail means attached to said standard; a

bolster carried by and slidably engaging said carriage rail and adapted to slide horizontally away from said headboard, thereby permitting said bed' frame to be turned in a horizontal plane on said hinge means; a plurality of roller means on horizontal axes intersecting said hinge means and each comprising a plurality of roller wheels on a common axis; and a horizontal strip so disposed as to be rolled over by one of said rollers so as to releasably engage said roller.

4. Ina bed structure, in combination, a table having two adjacent sides and a leg common to said two adjacent sides; verticalhinge means attached to said leg; a pair of headboards, attached to said hinge means; a bed frame attaohedto each of'said headboards; horizontal carriage rail means attached to said table and comprising a horizontal metal channel; a bolster parallel to and slidably engaging saidhorizontal metal channel, disposed so as to clear said headboard when slid away from said table. 5,-I n a bed structure, in combination, a table having two adjacent sides and a leg common to said two adjacent sides; vertical hinge means attached to said leg; a pair of headboards attached to said hinge means; a bed frame attached to each of said headboards; a roller assembly on each corner of each said bed frame, said roller assembly comprising a plurality of roller wheels on a common axle the axis of which coincides with the axis of said hinge means; horizontal carriage rail means attached to said table and comprising a horizontal metal channel; a bolster parallel to and slidably engaging said horizontal metal channel, disposed so as to clear said headboard when slid away from said table.

References Cited in the file of this patent '7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,602,937 I Frey July 15, 1952 2,630,581 Ziegenfuss Mar. 10, 1953 2,645,788 Knoll et al; July 21, 1953 2,710,412 Bayer June 14, 1955 2,904,796 Frey Sept. 22, 1959 

